PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed uranium company Marenica Energy has struck a deal with fellow listed Metals Australia to acquire the Mile 72 uranium project, in Namibia.
Under the terms of the agreement, Marenica will pay A$30 000 in cash and a preferential dividend of 1% of gross production from the project.
“We are excited about the acquisition of Mile 72 as we build a portfolio of uranium assets at the bottom of the uranium price cycle, assets in which our proprietary U-pgrade process is expected to add significant value,” said Marenica MD Murray Hill.
“Mile 72 has been underexplored for calcrete uranium mineralisation and presents a great opportunity for the company to potentially delineate a high-grade resource, in a world-class uranium province.”
Hill pointed out that the mineralisation at Mile 72 was very similar to the Marenica uranium project, as well as the Langer Heinrich project and the Tumas deposits, all in Namibia.
Past testwork on these projects has confirmed the amenability of U-pgrade, and indicated that the process could potentially reduce development costs by about 50% and the operating costs by about 50%.
Metals Australia director Gino D’Anna meanwhile said that the divestment of the Mile 72 project was in line with the change in the company’s strategy to position itself to become a developer of key commodities for the growing lithium-ion battery and energy storage markets.
“Marenica Energy already holds other uranium projects in Namibia and is well positioned to continue exploration of the project. Furthermore, Marenica has developed a proprietary technology for processing of surficial uranium deposits. Consequently, Marenica is also more favourably positioned to undertake the development of any uranium deposits that may be discovered.”
The agreement is subject to obtaining any regulatory approvals that will be required in Australia and Namibia.